(VOA) - U.S. investigators say the "black box" recorder from an Army Black Hawk helicopter was recovered Friday, as teams continue to search for clues into the midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington.

The Army helicopter and a commercial passenger jet collided late Wednesday as the jet was attempting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Investigators said Friday evening that they are reviewing the flight data recorder along with two from the plane that they found Thursday as they try to understand what caused the crash over the Potomac River.

National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman told reporters Friday the helicopter’s recorder appeared to be intact.

"We saw no exterior damage that would indicate it was compromised at this time, so we have a high level of confidence we’ll have a full extraction," he said.

The NTSB is the federal agency leading the investigation into the accident.

The commercial jet, a Bombardier CRJ700 regional craft operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines, carried 64 passengers and crew, while the U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carried a crew of three. Officials say there were no survivors.

Fire and emergency service officials in Washington said Friday that 41 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage. Authorities said that they would likely be unable to extricate more victims from the plane without heavier equipment.

Inman said that barges from Virginia Beach will arrive Saturday to begin more extensive salvage operations. He said rescue workers will also make sure that the victims are recovered.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Friday that most helicopters would not be allowed to travel through and near Reagan National Airport for the time being.

He wrote on social media platform X, "Today’s decision will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic."

Speaking Friday before the helicopter’s black box was found, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the recorder would likely determine who was piloting the helicopter at the time of the crash.

He said Thursday that the helicopter crew, which was conducting a night-flight training evaluation, included a staff sergeant, a captain-in-training, and a chief warrant officer, who was an instructor. The crew had been issued night vision goggles for the flight, but Hegseth said it was unclear if they were using them.

The defense secretary said the black box also could determine who was in communication with the airport’s air traffic control tower and if there was any confusion regarding the instructions they received.

Hegseth also said Thursday that the helicopter’s altitude at the time of the accident was under investigation.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the Army helicopter was flying too high at the time of the crash.

"It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???" Trump said in a Friday morning post on his Truth Social platform.

Citing a government report, The Washington Post reported Thursday that the control tower was understaffed Wednesday night. The report said two people were handling the jobs of four inside the tower at the time of the collision.

A similar report from U.S. broadcaster NBC News, citing a source familiar with the investigation, said a supervisor in the tower let an air traffic controller leave their shift early before the collision.

That decision, the report said, left one controller to handle both airplane traffic and helicopter traffic in the area, whereas typically there is one controller looking at each type of aircraft.

The NBC report said it is allowable under Federal Aviation Administration standards for one person to do both jobs, although it is not considered optimal.

At a news conference Thursday, both Virginia U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said they had expressed concerns over the years regarding the high volume of air traffic in the Washington area, but that they would await results from the accident probe before revisiting that specific concern.

During a White House news conference Thursday, Trump suggested previous presidential administrations, led by Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, lowered standards for the hiring of air traffic controllers and blamed diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, initiatives in the federal government for that.

He said he reversed those initiatives with executive orders last week.

The U.S. Figure Skating organization said several members of its community, including athletes, coaches and family members, were among the passengers on the plane.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," the organization said.

The Kremlin and Russian media said Russian figure skaters, including world champion couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, also were on the plane. Trump said his administration would facilitate the return of their remains to Russia.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.